No More 'Lyin' Ted' — President Trump Has New Nickname for Ted Cruz

The race between then-presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in the Republican Primary amidst a crowded field of contenders got pretty heated. The candidates poked fun at each other as they raced for the party nomination.

Trump gave Cruz one particularly powerful nickname at the time: “Lyin’ Ted.”

But on Monday ahead of his keynote appearance at a massive Texas rally for Cruz’ senatorial re-election race, President Trump gave the Republican lawmaker a new nickname: “Beautiful Ted.”

Asked about the old nickname by ABC News, the president replied, “He’s not ‘Lyin’ Ted anymore. He’s Beautiful Ted, I call him Texas Ted,” according to Yahoo!.

"We have worked together very closely. I like him a lot. And he's a very smart guy. He loves the people of Texas, which I do," Trump added.

https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1054455122917539842

On Sunday, Cruz himself assured voters that he and the president had made amends by telling ABC News that the “hard shots” he and Trump took at each other were far behind them, according to Fox News.

“I could have not worked with the president if I put my feelings ahead of Texas. That wouldn’t be my responsibility,” Cruz explained. “He’s the president…I work with him in delivering on our promises.”

Trump is expected to give Cruz a boost with his appearance later on Monday, and the crowd that has lined up to see them is massive — with many people sleeping in line overnight. In fact, the response to the upcoming rally has been so huge that organizers are holding a pre-event just to handle all the people.

https://twitter.com/PatrickSvitek/status/1054093187491553280

Trump himself has been expressing excitement about the rally on Twitter, writing early Monday morning that this will be a “Big Night In Texas!!!!”

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1054356359096033281

Video footage from late Sunday night of the huge line already forming also drew Trump’s attention:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1054454173142380544

Cruz has been in a tight race with his progressive Democratic contender, Beto O’Rourke, who has received a mountain of support from the Hollywood left. Higher-than-normal voter turnout is expected in Texas for the midterm elections because of all the excitement this heated race has stirred up.

Despite the record $38 million that O’Rourke now has for his campaign, according to Business Insider of polls from Oct. 16 show Cruz four to seven points ahead of O’Rourke.